Lawrence Kasdan is one of the most revered men in the Star Wars universe. After penning the beloved "Empire Strikes Back," Kasdan has been hired to write a spin-off film and consult on the highly anticipated "Episode 7." Kasdan recently spoke with The Los Angeles Times and detailed some ideas for the upcoming movies.
Among the items at the top of Kasdan's agenda is a "fresh start" for the franchise. He notes that there are "certain pleasures that we think the saga can bring to people that they've been missing, and we're hoping to bring them that, and at the same time, have them feel that it's all new." Screen Crush asserts that this is a reference to the prequel films (Episodes I through III) which were critically panned.
Kasdan added that the reason why the first three films the original trilogy that is) were more successful was because they were "more about the people than the ones that followed." He adds, 'Empire' appeals to people, I think, because it's the second act of a three-act play, and everything sort of goes to hell during the movie. And when you leave, everyone is in trouble, and that is the best part of the story to write. And people responded to it. Irvin Kershner was a completely different kind of director than George, so the movie's much darker than the first 'Star Wars.' It's more edgy."
Finally Kasdan revealed that Star Wars creator George Lucas was the one who asked him on to work on the new films. He added that Lucas has given everyone his "blessing' and has offered to help if he is needed.
Kasdan also interviewed alongside writer Simon Kinberg for IGN and noted that the new movies would be fun. He stated that Abrams is a great director for the new films and added that "I was pleased that there would be new ones, that there was a chance to capture some of the spirit of the original trilogy that I'd worked on. I thought there's an audience out there - my grandchildren, lots of original Star Wars people - and there always will be. It's only good that we try to do some more great ones.
Kinberg stated that his approach to working on the movies was to be a fan and enjoy the process. "I try to block out the anxiety. I feel if I worry too much about the responsibility, and I just try to focus on the fun of it and the reasons why I grew up reading X-Men comics and watching Star Wars movies and reading Sherlock Holmes stories, that first time I read or watched any of those things and why they were so magical to me," said Kinberg. "I try to honor that and return to that as I would a fan."
Neither Kinberg nor Kasdan revealed which spin-off movie they were working on.
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